#sol17: Day 1

Day 1 of #sol17

New beginnings, like:

     ...a piece of gum from a fresh pack

     ...the first drop of rain hitting the windshield in a storm

     ...a new bud blooming on a tree branch

     ...the first sip of coffee from a just poured cup

     ...the familiar first notes of a song starting on the radio

     ...the first page of a book, covered with words and ideas to explore

     ...the blank page of a journal, filled with nothing but white space and possibility.

New beginnings, like March 1st.

Let the slicing begin!

Kevin Henkes!

   

      My whole family met Kevin Henkes this week!

     I taught 2nd grade for many years, and the books of Kevin Henkes were practically required reading each year.  His books taught my students (and myself) some very important character lessons through stories about cute little mice that always tugged at the heartstrings.  Now, as a coach, I still recommend books like Chrysanthemum and Wemberly Worried to classes every year.  I am also a mom of a 1st and 2nd grader, so his books are also studied by my own kids at school.

     Last week, I came home with a ticket to be #15 in line at Anderson's to get autographs in Egg, Kevin Henke's newest title.  I came home and told my son, and he was very excited.  He started naming his other books, and then asked, "Mom, why do you think he likes mice so much?"  

     The night before the book signing, I read Egg with my daughter.  She, in fact, read it to me.  She is coming into her own confidence as a reader, and this was a first for her.  The next day, when she got to hear the very same book read aloud by the author himself, I had a little tear in my eye.  

     Kevin Henkes read Egg and Waiting, and talked about his process for drafting a new book.  He showed us his initial sketches on paper, and how he makes "dummy" books first.  He talked about how he tries different mediums for his artwork, like pencil or watercolors, and how he sometimes uses shading and black sharpie.   My son actually blurted out, "That's good art work" to which Kevin Henkes politely said, "Thank you" before continuing on.  #love

     When talking about writing, he said that he often writes in his head. not just in his studio.  He says he gets ideas for writing everywhere, and he keeps a notebook for ideas.  His idea for Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse came in an airport while watching a girl (who has no idea Lilly was inspired by her) playing with a musical purple purse.  He said to keep your ears and eyes open, because stories are everywhere.  

No matter who you are, or where you live, you can be a writer.  We all have stories to tell.   -Kevin Henkes 

That's my son's hand in the air,

with his many questions for Kevin Henkes.

     He illustrates almost all of his books, except for a few that his wife illustrated and a few that he wrote while writing novels.   My son asked why he used shading a lot, which was great for him to ask as he loves to draw and sketch himself.  Kevin Henkes later said that he draws nearly every day, and when you do something almost every day for many years, you are bound to get better at it.  What a great message for the kids and adults alike in the audience!  Growth mindset in action.  :)

     I was so happy that my kids got to meet Kevin Henkes in person.  His books are full of heart and honest emotion, and it is clear that he as a person is just as kind and sensitive as his characters.   I told him that I have been an educator for 18 years, and every year I have used his books to teach students. Just imagine how that must feel, to be an author whose words shape the lives of that many children. The world we live in is also shaped by the books we read.  At a time like the present, I am extremely grateful for books like those of Kevin Henkes.

Writers!

      I went upstairs to work on some curriculum work at my son's desk, because I needed to plug in my computer and he has an outlet.  I had just sat down, and a little voice came up from behind me. 

     "Mommy, can we read this?"

     My daughter climbed up onto my lap, and put The Dot down on top of my computer.  Of course, I can't argue with my daughter's choice of books, so we read the Peter Reynolds masterpiece.  When we finished, she decided to make her own.  I thought she meant a dot picture, but she came back upstairs with a blank book from the Target Dollar Spot and announced, "I'm better at drawing squares, not circles.  I'll call mine The Square."  (This quickly changed when her square looked more like a rectangle, so The Rectangle it became).

     She changed the characters from a teacher to Mom, and the joke that the blank white paper was a drawing of a polar bear in the snow had to switch to a seal.  I mean, seals are her animal.  And, she had to sit on my lap.  I guess Peter Reynolds and I am her muses.  He gives her the ideas, and I give her a lap of support.

     When her brother came upstairs, she allowed him to have one knee, and he also started making a book.  He decided to use a topic of his own, and chose taking his stuffed seal to school.  We clearly love seals around here.  He did the cover, and then on his endpapers he hid a seal, "just like Mo Willems would do, Mom!"  We love Pigeon, too.

     They got a few pages in, and then a snack seemed really important, and they left their shared writing space in search of food.  And, sadly, forgot to return.  But, their books are waiting to be finished, and I know that the stories yet to be told will end with a happy seal or two in the end.

     I just love that my children, who consider themselves writers, allow their ideas to start from the books they read.  One chose the story line, and the other chose the structure of the book itself.  Isn't that the foundation of author's craft that we hope our primary students receive from all those great read alouds in class?  They are a 1st and 2nd grader, who stopped their mom from doing her boring curriculum work to write stories.  What a great piece of my day! 

     Thanks, Peter and Mo, for inspiring our youngest writers, and those of us who are not so young at all.

    
    

Not to Be Political...

     I don't do politics very often.  I have strong political beliefs (and those who know me personally know them) but I don't usually put political things out there on social media.  To be honest, somewhere along the line I was told that as teachers we shouldn't, and I am a rule follower.  

     But here I am, sitting in my family room, reading the tweets thanking Obama on his last night as president, and I am sobbing.  I can't really even see the screen very well, so I hope this is spelled correctly.  My keyboard is blurry.  Maybe I shouldn't have watched 2 episodes of This is Us in a row...

     I posted that picture of my son, who was less than a month old, 8 years ago after I voted for Obama.  There, I said it.  In fact, I voted for him twice.  

     I'm sad.  I'll put my biggest reason right here.  8 years ago, I posted that picture of my son on Facebook.  I wasn't worried that my friends or family would be offended.  I knew they didn't all agree with me, but I was a proud mom, posting a picture of my son in a onesie that was given to me by a dear friend.  I posted it before he won, so it wasn't trying to brag that my candidate won.  It was a statement about the importance of being a citizen, and a proud new mom. And there were no negative comments posted.  Tonight, I was going to post it on Facebook again and thank Obama for his time, and I was afraid that someone would put some hateful, Obama bashing comment next to a precious picture of my son.  And, to be honest, it would have probably been a close friend or family member.  So, instead, I started crying.

     What has happened to this world?

     I am tired of everyone having to be right, but no one doing what is right. 

     OK, so not EVERYONE has to be right and I'm sure that it isn't really NO ONE doing what is right, but it just seems like that lately.  We all can't agree on everything, but at this point it seems like it is more important that we disagree with people than actually try to find some common ground.  And that just makes me sad.

     So, on this last night of the Obama presidency, I am thankful for a president who spoke with respect at every public speaking event that I ever watched, even when he probably didn't want to be.  I am thankful for a president who believes that being a dad is even more important than being the president.  That is so telling.  I am thankful for his fighting for equality and coverage for all, and for taking a place in history as the first African American president.  It sends such a great message to our children.  I am thankful.

      Nowhere in there did I mention the things that I didn't like, because, well, no one is perfect.  And, on this last night of his presidency, I am showing gratitude.  My son has only known Obama as president, and I am grateful that he had a model of a great leader.

     By hitting "publish" I will feel better, because my thoughts came out in words, and that always seems to help me.  I might not tag this on Twitter, like I usually do, because I went political, and I hesitate, but I feel better. We'll see.

     This self-proclaimed "rainbow spotter" and close reader of good just saw the White House lit up as a rainbow for Obama's last night.  My coworkers changed my lightbox the other day, and now I see how it was just meant to be.  There is always a rainbow, somewhere.  Sometimes it's huge and on the White House, and sometimes it is small and almost not even there.  But, it is always there if we know to look for it.

     #ThanksObama

A Little Nettle Creek Love

     I had the pleasure of spending the day with the teachers at Nettle Creek in Morris yesterday working on guided reading with their K-5 teachers.  The topic was decided by the teachers earlier in the year, because they decided that they wanted to grow in that area.  Yesterday, they opened up their school and their students to me, and we worked together to grow as reading teachers.  

     I am so very impressed that teachers (who don't even know me very well) opened their classroom doors to me.  They allowed me to walk around the building, going classroom to classroom, looking for examples of balanced literacy in their rooms.  They also allowed me to work with their students, and as I taught three guided reading lessons, they were flexible with teacher coverage and watched in pairs in a fishbowl. Their administrator watched, too.  Then, when the day was over, we used their extended day to talk a little more deeply about the parts that go into planning well for guided reading, and made some plans to move their guided reading groups along.

     I mean, isn't that just a growth mindset utopia?  It is in my book.

     I just love that the teachers at Nettle Creek are so dedicated to their students that they not only want to learn, but trusted me to come into their classrooms, work with their kids, and allowed me to give feedback. More impressively, they asked questions and talked with each other to make plans for their students.

     Did I mention that they videotaped my lessons?  I mean, isn't that just the type of thing I tell my teachers to do all the time, and they turned the tables on me!  Marissa Darlington, you speak my language. 

     Thank you, Nettle Creek.  The sunrise you see over the fields in Morris every morning pales in comparison to your beauty as educators.  

     I urged the Nettle Creek teachers to look at this picture of my own kids at the beginning of the year, and asked them to make sure they makes "stops" along their path as teachers.  Our school hallways are a lot like that path, where the doors remain closed and we make our way to our own rooms and just pass them.  But, if we stop every once in a while and go through those doors, or open our doors to others, then we see all the beauty that is hidden on the sides of the path.  Collaboration is right there waiting.  

    I urge us all, in 2017, to embrace opportunities to learn from others in our building or across our districts.  Whether it is in person, social media, or anything in between, let's learn with each other this year.  

    

One Word 2017

First, a little reflection on 2016...

My words last year:

     Looking back at it I feel like "Present" was a good word for me.  Reading that, though, makes me think that it could be my word again this year.  (That might be cheating.)

     I have not mastered being present by any stretch of the imagination, but I did remember that goal for the entire year!!!  I found myself referring to my #oneword in conversations even in December.  That means that I was way more successful than I had been with traditional resolutions of the past. Those were usually forgotten by January 2nd.  Somehow my #oneword became a mantra.

     I was present more of the time, but I still have trouble balancing everything.  There just isn't enough time in the day...  But, when things got crazy, I remembered my one little word PRESENT and started to prioritize things.  What do I need to do right now, so that I can be back in the moment?  It helped, and I will continue that in 2017.  Now I just need to work on keeping the phone put away.  I think time and the digital world we live in are my two biggest challenges to being present.

And now on to 2017...

     I struggled with a word for this year.  To be honest, anxiety and worry has crept into my head in recent months, for a variety of reasons.  My name (Leah) literally means "the weary" and I have always been a worrier.  But, as 2017 approaches, I worry.  I was driving to dinner with a dear friend, thinking about a word that would mean the opposite of "worry"for my one word.  We were wearing our Star Wars shirts, in honor of Carrie Fisher and her mom, because after 25 years that's the kind of friends we are.  When I got to the restaurant I checked my phone to see if she had arrived yet, and saw a Twitter notification.  That's when I saw this:

     My one word was born.

     I was born in 1977, with the name Leah, and have always lived with references to Princess Leia.  I have come to identify with her, in some weird way, as the years have passed.  I now have children of my own who love Star Wars, and a son who identifies himself as BB-8 and a daughter who has Stormtrooper dreams.  Needless to say, I was devastated with Carrie Fisher's passing.  I actually hid in my bedroom and cried, and when my husband caught me I told him I knew how silly it was to be so sad about a person I never actually met.  And then I read a tweet from George Takei, which I word swagged:

     Growing up connecting myself to the character Princess Leia (even if just by name), I learned that not all princesses are frilly and fragile.  Some of them have quiet bravery that can move us with great force, and they stand up when someone needs someone to stand.  So, filled with anxiety and worry that is oh so familiar to me, I read that quote from Carrie Fisher and found my one word: CONFIDENT.

     For so many reasons, this is the word for me.  

     I was halfway through writing this, and stopped to have dinner on New Year's Eve.  My fortune cookie reaffirmed my word choice. 

     I will continue to worry and be fearful (because I always am), but I am going to try to move with confidence towards 2017 and make it a year to remember.  Our mind is a powerful thing, and I need to remember to not let worry shape my world.  I need to be confident and have that drive me, so that I see it in my life. 

     And now, just for the fun of it, here is a Princess Leia inspired picture to start 2017. Thanks, Carrie Fisher, for helping me see part of who I am through identifying with you, and somehow helping me to remember to be fearful yet strong even after you left this world.  What a strong princess you were indeed, and you are still teaching many little princesses to take your lead.

1980s Again (Or the Role of Choice in Reading)

     There I was, sitting in a very messy post-Christmas house.  Toys were everywhere, and I should have been cleaning.  However, I had just stopped in to a #LearnLAP Twitter chat, created by the talented Paul Solarz (@PaulSolarz) and guest moderated by Teresa Gross (@teresagross625), on Lit Circles and Book Clubs and had discovered something called #BookSnaps.  I have been a Snapchat holdout, until now.  In the name of literacy, I created an account.  I just needed a book to read to #BookSnap about.

     And then I remembered my book twin, and her quest to read books 1-40 of The Baby-Sitters Club in sequence by the end of the year.  We had agreed to both read #18 over the break.

     I was transported back to 1988 and found myself in New York City with the gang, exploring museums, walking through Central Park, and going to the theater.  Mix in a little middle school drama, 80's fashion, and old friends, and I was wishing I was actually there in New York.  Reading these books now, as a literacy coach, I am amazed at the craft work involved in the telling of her books.  Before CCSS Standard 6 was all the rage, point of view was on Ann M. Martin's radar.  Well done!  

     I finished the book, and really wanted to fly to New York.  Since that is not a realistic option, I remembered another book that I had upstairs in my waiting to be re-read pile.  Last summer, I had purchased From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.  I received the book as a gift from my 4th grade teacher long, long ago but the box had been misplaced.  I bought a new copy, with the intention of reading it last summer, but never did.  My old copy has since been found (!!!), and I finally decided to re-read it.  

     Why now, might you ask?

     The story takes place in New York City.  They don't go to the American Museum of Natural History, like the BSC, but they do stay at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  The main character of Mixed-Up Files is named Claudia, just like one of the main BSC members.  And, after Mary Anne talked the whole book about tourism in New York City, I wanted to read more.  

     From page 1, I knew I had made the right choice.  Enter my #BookSnaps.  :)

     What a great read!  To be truthful, I think I might have had the Art Institute of Chicago in my head for most of the setting, but reading about New York in the 1960s, and comparing it to the description in the late 1980s, was interesting to do.  Claudia's development as a character, and her reasoning for running away, was a hidden bonus to the re-read.  To be honest, my comprehension has greatly improved since I was a 4th grader.  I was a fluent reader, but not a deep reader, back then.  I'm glad that is now part of our instructional goals.  :)

     I was sad the book ended, so I read the afterword from the newest copy of my book, because it had hit a 35th year anniversary since my 6th grade read.  Hearing from E.L. Konigsburg about how the city of New York would be in some ways both the same and different for Claudia and Jamie in 2002 only deepened the comparison to The Baby-Sitters Club setting connection.  It turned out that the Met had actually written about it in their Museum Kids newsletter, too.  I quickly googled it, and there it was!!! Here is the PDF if you are a Mixed-Up Files fan.  There is a whole section on Michelangelo, since the mystery of the book is based around him.  Suddenly, I kind of want to re-read The Davinci Code.

     What does all of this have to do with anything?

     At the #LearnLAP Twitter chat about book clubs, one of the questions asked about tools that would help kids be successful.  Here was my response:

     We often hear the complaint that kids are "just reading" during Reading Workshop.  That somehow, the act of reading a novel isn't enough.  Now, that is true if the kids are not actually reading.  If they are holding a book quietly in hopes the teacher won't notice them, then we have a problem.  But, if they choose a book (like BSC #18), finish it, choose another one (like Mixed-Up Files), finish it, then go to the internet and find a nonfiction article to follow up, then isn't that what we want?  That wasn't my intention when I opened up BSB #18.  I just wanted to try #BookSnaps, and keep a promise to my book twin.  But, since the books mattered to me, I finished both of them in 2 days.  Yes, I'm an adult.  But, I am also a READER.  Maybe we need to tell stories like this to our students, to help them see that the books they CHOOSE to read can make all the difference.

     On that note, my own reluctant yet fluent 2nd grader reader just got books 1-4 of the Princess in Black series.  Let's hope that this character speaks to him as much as "the Claudias" did to me!  Maybe we will even make #BookSnaps about her.  :)

   Thanks, Paul and Teresa, for a great #LearnLAP chat!